Acts 4:1-31
Last week we left Peter and John preaching in the temple during one of the thrice-daily prayer times. They cured a lame man, and used it as an opportunity to speak. The priests at that time were chosen by lot, which was a way used back then to determine God’s will. It was a great honor to be chosen by lot to serve, and the interference from Peter and John must have upset them greatly. There is no indication that there was any riot, or uprising. The account just says that the Sadducees were “greatly disturbed” (Acts 4:1-2)
This of course begs the question, if there was no riot and no uprising, why were the Sadducees so disturbed as to call the temple police to arrest these men? To answer that we need to remind ourselves who the Sadducees were, and what they believed. The Sadducees were what we today might call a group of liberal priests. Unlike the Pharisees, they held that only the first five books of what we call the Old Testament were real. They denied the existence of demons, the spirit world and denied any possibility of resurrection being real. They were a small group, but they were rich and powerful and often comprised for the sake of peace with Rome.
This creates a problem for Peter and John. Since the Sadducees enjoyed the favor of Rome (John 11:47-50), they needed everything to stay the same. Change could only spell a loss of power for them, and Rome would come down hard if there was any public uprising. The Sadducees saw in Peter and John the potential for such an uprising and needed to act. Furthermore, preaching that Jesus whom they had crucified was raised from the dead, which they taught could not happen, right in the heart of their power, the temple, was a direct attack on their authority. They had to be stopped.
Before we move on I want to point out that there does appear to be a time gap here from the end of Peter’s sermon till the arrest that evening, yet the Bible says “as they were yet speaking” they were arrested. There are at least two possible answers for this time gap, the first is that we only have a summary of Peter’s sermon and not the complete text, and that John preached part of the message that was not included for us. This would mean Peter and John were arrested right after Peter gives his closing remarks. This is a reasonable position to hold, especially given that Acts was written somewhere around 30 years after this event. While people were alive to verify the account, it is not likely many if any would remember the sermon exactly, making a summary a perfectly reasonable option.
Another option is that Peter did wrap up his sermon as quickly as it seems he did, and following that the Jews there approached them both with questions. This would mean the arrest happened well after the sermon, but Peter and John were still teaching. This would fit with the natural outcome of so many additional people being saved who no doubt would have had tons of questions for Peter and John about their new found relationship with God. Which ever answer it is does not matter, it is just yet another so called error in the Bible that with a little bit of reason and logic can be cleared up.
Two things happened as a result of this teaching. First is that Peter and John were arrested. They are kept over night since it is illegal under Jewish law to try a person at night. The second is that that first Christian church body grew to be about five thousand men. If we assume that their families were converted with them, the number could easily grow in to the tens of thousands. Keep in mind, Christianity is only a couple weeks old, and this first body is already bigger then most of the Churches in modern day USA. This explosive growth continues through the book of Acts, and this is the last time the body of Christ it its totality is counted.
Sometime the next day Peter and John are brought before the same court that ruled Jesus should be killed. The very same people that questioned Jesus were now questioning them. While the text does not say, we can safely assume that Peter and John realized there lives were on the line in this trial. The safe bet for them would be not mention Jesus, the resurrection or the need for repentance. If they would play the game, even if just to trick the leaders to let them go, things would be better for them.
I should pause here to point out that the Jewish religious leaders here are doing exactly what they should be doing. Two men came in to their midst, worked a miracle and began to teach. It is the job of the church to test the men to see if they are from God, or are of Satan. The Bible warns us in many places that the Devil can work miracles. (For examples see Exodus 7:10-12, Rev. 13:14 and Rev. 16:16) The Bible tells us that we must test all things in light of scripture and hold fast to that which is good. (2 Thes 2:9-10) The religious leaders are doing just that by asking Peter and John, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (Acts 4:7b).
This gives Peter an opening, which in his characteristic style he runs right in. Peter does not hold back, he accuses them of their sin, claims the deity and resurrection of Jesus, and tells them how to be saved. The court that convened to try them was rendered powerless by Peter’s message. They knew they could not let them continue to preach and teach, but they broke no law. Peter and John gave all the glory to God, and court could not deny the healing as the lame man stood before them completely well after forty years of being lame. The courts only recourse was to threaten them to shut up. Peter and John’s response was to get with fellow believers and praise the Lord for their victory, and ask for courage to carry on.
So the big question left is what can we today learn from this? The big lesson here is not so much in what is said, but what is not. When Peter’s chance to preach to the rulers of the Jews came up, he was already ready. We do not read of him preparing in advance for this event, no last minute panic prayers, just simple action. The reason is that both of them had spent the last several years with Jesus, and after Jesus ascended spent time in prayer and living the Christian life. When ones life is lived fully for Jesus, one ends up in a state of perpetual readiness so that they can jump through open doors when they come across them.
Peter and John spent much time in prayer, fellowship and worship throughout their normal lives. This gave them the boldness and power to be ready for any opening. If we model our lives in the same way, then we too can be ready for when we face our own trials and can be used by God in a mighty way for His Kingdom.
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